Pepper & Peppercorn

Black pepper is the backbone note on a rub shelf that mostly talks about chilli heat — genuine peppery warmth, not fire. It's the dried, cracked berry of Piper nigrum: the coarse black fleck in a classic Salt Pepper Garlic (SPG) blend, or the headline flavour itself, whole and smoked, or Dalmatian-style with nothing but salt alongside it.

It's the workhorse note for steak, brisket and anything on a hot grill or cast-iron pan — a proper pepper crust holds its bite through a long cook without burning off. SPG earns its reputation on beef and fish alike, while a straight cracked-pepper or lemon-pepper seasoning finishes chicken and wings without masking the protein underneath.

Start with Four Saucemen's Pohutukawa Smoked Peppercorns for the real thing — whole, hardwood-smoked, straight into your own grinder. For a ready-made SPG, try Chuds BBQ's pepper-forward Texas blend, or the Australian-made Coast n Smoke and Uncle Mungos versions. Sinsque's Black Mamba layers that same warmth under a beef-rub bark, and Three Little Pigs BBQ's Memphis Style Rub leans pepper-forward the Memphis way. For lemon pepper, reach for Butchers Axe's Scout or Kosmos Q's Wing Dust.

It's a genuine mix of Australian-made and US/NZ import, and most of the range is genuinely no-chilli or mild — a couple, including Coast n Smoke's SPG and Fancy Hanks' Pepper Seasoning, are vegan and gluten free too. Big peppery flavour, no fluff, no fire unless you go looking for it.

Explore more: our spicy and hot collections.